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Thursday, June 1, 2017

Communications for Strategic Advantage: The Voice of Leadership

The art of
communications is the language of leadership.

James Humes, author and
presidential speechwriter.

I was always taught as a youngster that if you are smart
people will listen. How UNTRUE. Certainly being smart is important but it is
the tone, tenor and communications style you use that makes you real powerful
and a person to whom people want to listen.
Think about the people in your life – be it at home or in the office-
and see how you react to them in different situations. Learning the key traits to communicating is
both an art and a science.

I had the privilege of listening to Victor Dominguez,
Managing Partner of Ligature Group provide a keynote talk at a recent Masters
Lunch. Victor is a communications pro
and a “creative” with an advertising background. His consultancy focuses on
building authentic communications with people and to move relationships from
the initial stages of building trust to forming strategic partnerships.

Here are some of his pearls of wisdom from his talk. Frankly I wish I learned this as a first time
executive as I would have been able to build relationships faster.

2. Employees can resolve conflictwithout special training by focusing on a.Respect
b.Trust
c.Listening and identifying shared goals
d.Advise
e.Change
3.Align communications with ethics and actions
a.Do the right thing
b.For the right reason
c.Do it the right way
4.It’s not about the words you use; it’s about
what people hear
5.Build trust and respect by
a.Asking questions
b.Listen actively and purposefully
6.Communicating with Millennials seems to be hard
but is really easy
a.Millennials don’t like BS!i.Avoid corporate talk
iiSay it straight and don’t talk down to a millennial
b. Focus on the end goal to solve a problem
c.Recognize them for their results- then again,
who doesn’t like kudos and recognition?
7.The ability to learn faster than your
competition may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Of
the 7 items listed I know that early in my career I violated several of these
tenets. Thankfully I have learned from
my mistakes. The good news is that many
younger executives and even more “mature” ones should pay attention to these
pearls of wisdom as the combination of smarts and communications skills will
make you more effective faster.

Do you agree or disagree with this blog? Let me know and please like it and share it as you see fit.